Superpages’ New ‘SuperGuarantee’ a Bold Move

Opus Research/LMS colleague Dan Miller and I met with new Idearc CEO Scott Klein last night for an extended period. Klein took us through an extensive tour of where the company is headed, new products in the pipeline and a range of other stuff that’s coming. There was so much information and so many changes it was mildly exhausting. It represented a condensation of eight months’ work in a couple hours (for us).

Klein, a seasoned executive with a varied background that includes CPG and Internet companies, is an impressive figure and probably the leader that Superpages employees have been hungry for. He’s also a turnaround expert who has helped past companies grow dramatically.

We were shown several new offerings that represent bold departures from what’s come before at Superpages and in the YP industry generally. Representative of Superpages’ new direction is an announcement the company is making today: SuperGuarantee. It also symbolizes the company’s new more consumer centric focus.

SuperGuarantee is a program that will be available for roughly 3000 (though not all) YP headings. (The company won’t guarantee, for example, the work of lawyers, salons or surgeons.)

Advertisers who qualify will be backed by this program and receive a logo (below) that will appear on their ads and can be used in their collateral. What it means is that Idearc is warranting the quality of the work being performed. If there’s a problem, Idearc will step in to mediate between the consumer and contractor or vendor. If it cannot be resolved, the company says it will pay the aggrieved consumer up to $500. Klein said that the company could also punish advertisers in various ways, as part of the program.

Users must register to become part of the program. In so doing they will be encouraged to rate and review merchants thereafter, which should help beef up Superpages and its other properties’ (e.g., Switchboard) user-generated content.

In response to me playing devil’s advocate, Klein said that this is no cynical “marketing” program or attempt to create the appearance of something — the company has invested substantial money to develop and prepare to support the program.

We saw some of the TV and online ad creative associated with SuperGuarantee, which is partially about differentiating the company’s brand from other YP publishers in the mind of the public. The campaign was impressive and effective in my view. The company’s new tagline, “It’s about time. Yours” is also clever and addresses both consumer-users and advertisers.

Among a long list of other changes coming, the Superpages site will soon receive a face lift and upgrade to make it more consumer friendly.

One of the subtle things that SuperGuarantee and some of the other changes coming at Idearc start to do is shift the nature of “yellow pages” from a product (i.e., print and online directories) to a service for both consumers and advertisers. This is a nuance but a critical one; it helps build trust or build on and solidify existing relationships.

Most analysts and writers on the Internet and technology fail to appreciate the importance of brand and trust, although there’s been some discussion of this with Google. Most of the attention is on functionality and features with the bias that the “coolest” site or service will triumph. Functionality and user experience are critical but brand and consumer trust are also potent factors. Look at Craigslist; it hasn’t changed in a decade, but it beats others that have lots of slick functionality.

None of the major YP players has really developed a brand per se. Arguably “yellow pages” has been the brand in the US and, offline, consumers have simply differentiated between the thick book and the thin book. AT&T has tried to “own the brand” with its acquisition of Yellowpages.com and YP.com.

Now Idearc is striking out in several new directions, with a new focus on consumers. And its SuperGuarantee strikes me as a real differentiator.

48 Responses to “Superpages’ New ‘SuperGuarantee’ a Bold Move”

Greg, very interesting move indeed – I tried signing up to explore the terms – to me this actually smacks of a competitive move against ServiceMagic, which I think is smart. The service seems to forward specific leads with an indicator of timing/priority to the advertiser. (it asks the user for expected timing of their service need when I searched for windows in my area).

Lower the adoption barrier, and be direct in the “risk reduction” offer, versus the indirect (implied lower risk) and high-involvement model of SM. I like the thinking behind this.

This is an interesting idea that may seem similar to other sites but really isn’t. And it’s great to hear that they’ve put some Marketing muscle behind it. This will help to set Idearc apart from its competitors in search.

I was at the three day Dallas conference as a Idearc Major Account Executive. I can tell you after 27 years in this business I’ve never seen anything like it. For several years we have needed something to turn the industry upside down and become more consumer focused and the “superguarantee” is just that. It’s going to have an impact on usage and drive consumer confidence to our products. It’s a great time to be with superpages.

I too was unaware of the IAC “ServiceMagic” program. Although it does have a similiar appearance, the offer is not really the same. It appears that IAC was not willing to accept the risks involved in such a Guarantee. As well planned an idea ‘www.SuperGuarantee.com’ is, it is apparant that the management team at Idearc are putting the consumer higher up on the priority list and finding ways of differentiating itself from the competition. What was the last “idea” that you remember from the YP industy??? hmmmmm…. let me guess….. PROCESSED COLOR?!!! lol

This is the final nail in their coffin. This company already settles pennies on the dollar with outstanding ad revenue from their advertisers. They are carrying billions in debt, they were delisted from the exchange, and now they are going to punish the advertisers that they have left for poor service? Any tradesman with half a brain knows that their is no ROI in Directory advertising or service magic for that matter. Direct mail and google adwords

This is the final nail in their coffin. This company already settles pennies on the dollar with outstanding ad revenue from their advertisers. They are carrying billions in debt, they were delisted from the exchange, and now they are going to punish the advertisers that they have left for poor service? Any tradesman with half a brain knows that there is no ROI in Directory advertising or service magic for that matter. Direct mail and google adwords is the way to go FOR NOW. New marketing is ever changing and getting locked in to a 1 year iron clad contract is foolish. Advertisers need to be vigilant with their ad dollars in this new economy, this new program ensures risk for the advertiser, I’ll spend my money elsewhere.

Anyone in marketing with half a brain knows that every type of advertising works on different levels, depending on countless variables! To say that google adwords and direct mail is the only thing that works is foolish to say the least. Different business’ work with different things. Adwords boasts a great ROI, for the right customer. By and large, yellow pages ROI tends to be a hair higher, but overall is the better ROI. If you do not agree, I am sure you can name different business’ that have a better ROI then yellow pages, but I will come back with local service trades that recieve a much better ROI. For instance, a customer that has no need for a website can’t even GET adwords. With the added cost of a website AND adwords, your ROI just got a lot lower.

Its all relative, and its the accross the board thinking- and I quote:

“Any tradesman with half a brain knows that there is no ROI in Directory advertising or service magic for that matter”
-that makes up the wrong perception of everyone reading.

In fact, I will say that directory (or direct) advertising across the board boasts a better ROI then anything else out there. In a time where people are counting every penny and looking to get more bang for their buck, why would they invest in radio or tv with has a very low ROI compared to directional advertising (that includes adwords) WHY? Perception from people that say it doesn’t work, yet it does.

I don’t hear you knocking tv (11 to 1 ROI) or radio (8 to 1 ROI) only Yellow Pages (52 to 1 ROI) or Internet Yellow Pages (55 to 1 ROI). Although TV and Radio and similar forms of advertisement should be used more for BRANDING then direct business, its all about your marketing mix. There is no one cure all marketing forms that is a home-run every time, and to say there that there is does nothing but make you sound like your pushing Snake-oil.

Those stats were brought you by CRM Associates, Dec 2007 report. ROI is determined based off the top 135 ROI producing headings for all forms of advertisement (apples to apples).

Matt, I don’t understand your logic. You state that this program creates risk for the advertiser and you would rather spend your money elsewhere. I am confused as to how it creates a risk? Offering a level of protection to the consumer is what this program is about. For years complaints have been made to trade organizations and commissions regarding unscrupulous practices from all sorts of advertising media. Not limited to local search but also classifieds such as Craigslist. This is one of the first instances were publisher has taken a step towards insuring consumer confidence as well as holding clients accountable for ethical practices and providing quality service. I don’t see why you would not want to participate in this program. If you stand behind your work, the greatest benefit in this circumstance would be for a fella like you to accumulate many positive reviews, increase new client opportunities from the positive perception and continue making money. Seems like everyone will benefit from this, does it not?

BTW, I agree with the sentiments on direct mail and Google Adwords. You as a business owner today likely need many different sources of leads to obtain new clients and effective directional advertising to retain existing clients. A good media mix should consist of Google PPC, Yahoo PPC, Interactive Yellow Page listings, local map search, online video, print yellow pages, direct mail, online classifieds, vehicle lettering, referral cards/coupons, outbound call centers, and various sorts of signage. Wouldn’t hurt to incorporate radio or tv in the mix as well……… seriously, what determines the advertising your business needs more than anything? CAPACITY! It is how many you are able to service or how much you are able to handle. Next argument is if you have only so much capacity, what media provides the amount of leads you need for the best ROI? That argument is one that directional media and local search continue to win.

Matt, These guys are right. The only business owner who should be nervous about this program would be those who consistantly provide very poor service. Otherwise this will be a great opportunity for a business owner such as yourself to get the word out that you are an upstanding, trusty worthy business owner. One of the greatest fears I have as a consumer is paying my hard earned $$$ money for questionable services. Then they don’t want to backup their work or they want you to pay more $$$ to fix the issue. Of course you could just go to someone else but you will still have to pay more $$$ and they may not be trustworhty either.

It’s also a good way to let others know who not to use. Picture this, you go to an car shop they charge you all kinds of money to fix a problem and in 2 weeks your car breaks down again. Then they refuse to refund your money or even fix your car w/o more $$$.

You can say not only will I tell everyone I know about your poor service, but I’m going to tell everyone I don’t know as well because I’m rating you on SuperGuarantee.com. That way you wont be able to take advantage of anyone else.

I cant wait until everyone starts using this. I am going to check the rating for all major buys and I am going to tell all my friends on facebook about it.

Hi Kae – Thanks for the positive feedback. I work for Idearc Media and I just wanted to let you know that all of the reviews are on Superpages.com so when you are telling all your Facebook friends about this great new service send them there!

Well its a very refreshing idea for a business that is in free fall. Its interesting. It applies a “guarantee” on about 3,000 categories. I wonder how many categories Idearc carries. I suspect Chris Silver-Smith or Mike Blumenthal might have an idea. 3,000 is definitely significantly less than the total number of categories of businesses they carry.

Of further interest, colleagues and I recently had an extremely short window to purchase a business that closed and has some serious liabilities. We were willing to pick up some but not others…and the transaction didn’t occur.

That business fell within a category that didn’t fall within the 3,000. I noticed some other categories that didn’t fall within the 3,000 and I know those categories could carry severe risk if the businesses within them don’t satisfy customers. At least from that very very limited review some people at Idearc did some reasonable credit risk with regard to this “guarantee”. (the categories I reviewed were different than the one’s you referenced above, Greg.

Good luck to Idearc. Its an interesting idea for a business that is sucking wind.

Since there seem to be a fair amount of Idearc employees commenting, I am curious…
So I find a plumber on superpages. There are some things I dont like about the job he does….so I am supposed to call a toll free idearc number to complain? The person I speak to cannot have a clue…just a guess, but my guess is that they dont know a lot about plumbing, and of course they have not been to my house, and they are not familiar with the repair. So I have to explain all in detail to them, and hope they get it? So then the plumber shows back up at my house. He will probably ask me why I didnt just call him directly to complain (he seems pissed…should I trust him less now, since he seems pissed?). So now he’s gone, and I am still not that happy. Do I call the toll free idearc number again and speak with a new ‘agent’ and have to tell my whole story again? So I then have to fill out forms? Might they try to resolve by getting him to come back out (now he is going to break something on purpose….just kidding, but I am not comfortable with this whole scenario). So I am still unhappy….is idearc going to cut me a settlement check for “up to $500”? What is the “up to”? Is that $179.14? Am I happy now? What am I missing about this program? (I understand I can ‘rate’ the guy, but I dont really have time or a strong interest for that kind of activity…..) Thanks for any comments or clarification.

Great idea that seems too late at the bar which is full. No muscle to get it marketed properly. With a pre-packaged bankruptcy most likely on the horizon, Mike’s comments are apropos, however, harsh. RR Donnelly is in the same boat. Too much debt load at the wrong time.

did anyone read the terms and conditions?? YIKES!! like any promotion, LENGHTY terms and conditions. you have to jump through a jungle of hoops. on and on. so; if you have a plumber out, he leaves, there’s still a leak so you turn the water off and you file a complaint, and you in the interim, because they have 6 weeks to resolve this, call someone else they’re off the hook???? they only pay the labor, what about that expensive unnecessary part that you paid for?? don’t want to be picky but if they want to do something [to increase their revenue] for consumers/advertisers; make it easy. otherwise just looks like a dressed up gimmick.

Just a few response to some seemingly well intentioned comments. Firstly- there is no “pre-packaged bankrupcty” in the works, unless of course you work for either the in-house counsel or the Courts. If that’s the case, you really can’t make that statement anyway. Priveliged information and all that. Secondly, the 3000 headings that are covered by the Superguarantee represent either the most commonly used or most often abused consumer types of industry. The point of this whole thing is not to “get you” or make you explain plumbing to someone who doesn’t know the industry, it’s to give you a second guarantee in addition to a warranty that might be offered by the contractor involved. As far as making it easy, since no claim has been filed by anyone yet, who knows how hard it is. Maybe people are so used to negativity that when a company tries to do something positive, everyone lines up waiting for it to fail! I find it interesting that everyone is so quick to jump on board with how this company is “sucking wind” and is about to collapse under the weight of the debt in an era when you can now buy many Blue Chip stocks at an un-heard of price. Smart people view that as an opportunity. At least Idearc didn’t ask the Government to bail them out!

So their core product is still yellow pages. If they are still charging big for the print product, no one is going to care about a super anything.

Are advertisers paying more to be on the “superguaranteed” list? (Answer–absolutely.) That super guarantee logo looks like a cross between the McAFEE Security Sweep logo and Norton Antivirus yellow. But that’s not their main problem…

To sufficiently connect brands they are going to spend the rest of their resources–I mean, they have to connect the new symbol to the other three brands, while continuing to strengthen Verizon’s YP AND pushing their own vapid–if not downright bewildering–brand? (They are on the downward half of the marketing cycle bell curve–they they should maintain YP and push hard for more innovation of .com’s functionality. It’s a NO BRAINER.) Idearc is all ready hurting for cash, and with a weaker sales force they hurt future reserves.

And if they promote this like they promoted Idearcs current brandmark, or their 2008 national cable tv promotion to use their yellow pages–forget about it. It’s over.

Brand and Marketing management at Idearc was lousy in 2008. I hope this is not the final nail in the coffin. Idearc is a fighter–But it is so weak right now, it looks like they are buying time, but nothing more.

Get your facts Straight…It is FREE to advertisers whose headings qualify. It is available with all their products YP Print, Direct Mail, and .com
Also Idearc Prices are not out of line. Do a comparison you will see they are very competitive. They hire experienced reps who put their clients first. Idearc’s goal is to bring their advertisers a great return on their investment. The company just restructured their debt same thing Donald Trump does all the time. They are financially sound and are not going anywhere but up.

The advertisers who get this guarantee FREE are loving the concept. Already The Idearc Media AKA Verizon Yellow Page’s-Superpages.com client base has grown and usage is through the roof. There is no other company willing to back up there clients like Idearc Media.
If you have a good media consultant that knows how to position your business properly your return on investment will far exceed your expectations. Even business that do not qualify to participate in the program will benefit from the increased usage and Brand Awareness it has created..

So I’m a small company open now for 3 years had no complaints but I just get buy paying the all ready high monthly payments I’m in business I understand Advertising is a needed evil. But If I can’t afford more on my ads and the multi million dollar companies with money to burn and thousands of complaints get a superguarantee listed and I don’t get one does not seem fair. I think this is just a sales gimmick and make it harder for small business to grow. Boy will I be mad if they say to get listed on this new superguarantee you need to fork over a few hundred dollars a month more when budgets are tight while trying to keeps costs down to help my costumes afford the services they need. Seems unfair an uneven balance when all ready competing over ad sizes and spots thanks Thanks idearc for making it more unfair for the little guys who do good work.

I agree with Rod’s posting on March 29, 2009. The small business with a small advertising budget losses here. The superguarantee is for those businesses that advertise at a higher level. Even the worst business can get a superguantee if they pay for the right advertising and choose the right categories. There are categories that are not included that provide the identical service as a category that is included. The people who set up the categories don’t know the business definition of the categories. We had to move to a higer level of advertising to keep up with our competitors who have the ‘superguantee symbol’ by their name. There are contractors listed with the superguantee who are not registered with the Attorney General, which was required in PA in July. Knowing that information is more important to a consumer than a ‘superguarntee’. In addition to this, we have been unable to obtain an electronic or hard copy of the superguarentee categories. The phone rep has reviewed it with us, but any links to the actual listing of categories that they have provided has not worked. Also, it has been over a month since we upgraded our advertising and updated our listing. Nothing has changed and we have called multiple times with no results. This is nothing more than a scam so that Idearc can bring in more advertising revenue, while misleading consumers into thinking that the businesses with the superguantee have actually ‘earned a great honor.’

At the bottom of the terms How can idearc judge who’s service is good or bad when at the bottom of their terms and conditions read.

No Pre-Screening or Endorsement of SuperGuarantee Service Providers. We have not checked, prescreened or
otherwise selected, and we do not endorse or recommend the services of, any SuperGuarantee Service Provider.

Just wanted to give a little extra information about this program. Yes the 3,000 categories is about 4,000 short of the total number of categories we actually offer. One reason is that we cover services and not products, so some categories are automatically out of contention, such as, florists, used auto parts, and so on. It gives the consumer a reason to come to our product which increases usage, which increases business for our advertisers.

I manage a company that advertises in Idearc yellow pages. Superguaranteed nice program for the consumer, But Like someone else said here. whos going to manage all the different Categories.
I feel its a little late to the party.
Wheres the help for the people that pay for the advertising. Phone book advertising has been in free fall for several years now. We track all our advertising and I can you phone book ads runs on average 225 to 350 per lead.
Here are the way’s we were getting over charged for years. Multiple headings for the same type of business, Larger & larger ads sizes, rep’s paid by commision and so on.
Anytime people in our field bring up phonebook advertising the same was said “its a necessary evil”.
But times have change with the web/online and so are we. No more capture audience here, we’ll still advertise in the phone book but on a much smaller scale.
Talking about the web. At&t.com thinks the old days are still here with there pricing structure. Sorry for the rant..

I’d like to see just how Idearc is planning to track this program. I like the idea of the SuperGuarantee and think it will attract consumers if given enough play to actually stick in the minds of consumers, but it should be trackable to the extent that Superpages can prove the worth of the program. (although its probably already starting to prove itself in terms of ‘good will’ and good pub.)

If they can get enough traffic to the site (Idearc SEOs that means YOU) for people to get idea of the guarantee ‘out there’ it should help usability stats. If this, if that, lots of ‘ifs’.

A step in the right direction but one of the conditions (as jacques pointed out) requires you to wait up to 6 weeks without the option of having the problem fixed in the interim (Get it fixed or repair it yourself beforehand and your claim is automatically denied (Emergency means emergency, no?))…not very realistic. Only long-term projects would benefit , but then again the cost would probably be alot more than $500 bucks.

George, great comments. I agree that as much as the traditional yellow page companies have attempted to state that they are the local search experts, they are just too late to the party. The sales model for print does not work well in something that requires client focus like the internet.

Although only a few companies can afford great exposure in the phone book, the same can be said for .com marketing. I don’t see what the IYP companies can offer more than small traffic to company owned sites and Google advertising that is heavily marked up with little service behind it.

Here are a few facts on the Service(er I mean Super)Guarantee……

* Subcontracted services are not eligible for the SuperGuarantee program – “Subcontracted Services Excluded”

* You must enter a written contract with service provider prior to services being rendered. Signed by both parties. Labor needs to be itemized

I have been reading and I am a little confused. So would it be better if the yellow page companies charged for the ads and guaranteed nothing? As a consumer I would use the yellow pages that at least made an attempt to offer some sort of guarantee. I think its better late than never really! It seems as though all of the advertisers would benefit even if they’re not one of the guarantee categories because it would be the only yp I would use, for the things I need locally.

I wouldn’t do any business, ever, with Idearc Media. I am still in a siut with them over false advertising fee’s. They are a shady company, in which one dept has no clue what the other is doing. They will not return phone calls nor emails. It is my opinion that anyone looking to advertise, run as far away from this company and it’s affiliates as possible.

[…] program was a fairly good idea. The concept of leveraging a trust mark and guarantee program is an overall good idea for internet yellow pages (even if the program was obviously very derivative and immitative of similar services offered by […]